Tom Becker has won the 2007 Waterstone's children's book prize with his first novel, Darkside, receiving a cheque for PS1,000 and the promise of display in branches of the book store across the country. 

The 25-year-old author described winning as an "unbelievable feeling". "I didn't think my book would be on the shortlist and stood a chance of winning, and it's amazing to receive such an important award at the beginning of my writing career. Needless to say I am absolutely made up." he said. 

The novel, inspired by film noir , fantasy and a fascination with the dark side of the 19th century, is for children between the ages of nine and 12. It tells the story of a boy, Jonathan Stirling, who discovers a similar world filled with vampires and werewolves . This alternative reality has a clearly Victorian air, and is ruled by a descendant of Jack the Ripper. Soon hunters from the other side begin searching for Jonathan, who finds himself driven into their world. 

Waterstone's head children's buyer, Wayne Winstone, thought highly of Becker's "huge" achievement. He said: "Tom Becker's writing style attracts you in the same way that Darren Shan's does with his mix of adventure and the supernatural. 

"I have a feeling that Tom has real potential and could be one of the big names in children's writing in the future." 

This year's shortlist also included Michael Broad's Jake Cake, Philip Caveney's Sebastian Darke and Siobhan Dowd's A Swift Pure Cry. Last year's prize was won by Julia Golding with The Diamond of Drury Lane. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. How many novels had Tom written before winning a prize?
2. What prize did he win?
3. Did receive a monetary reward as well?
4. What did Wayne Winstone think about the writer?
5. What did Wayne have to say about him?
6. Who was on the shortlist with him?
7. Who won the prize the previous year?
8. For what work?
9. What type of writing style inspired Tom's novel?
10. From what century?
11. Is his book a suggested read for teenagers?
12. Is it geared a younger or older audience?
Answer: 1. none
2. Waterstone's children's book prize
3. Yes
4. he thought highly of Becker's "huge" achievement
5. Tom has real potential and could be one of the big names in children's writing in the future
6. Michael Broad, Philip Caveney and Siobhan Dowd
7. Julia Golding
8. The Diamond of Drury Lane
9. mix of adventure and the supernatural.
10. 19th century
11. No
12. younger

San Francisco (initials SF) (, Spanish for Saint Francis; Spanish: ), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the cultural, commercial, and financial center of Northern California. The consolidated city-county covers an area of about at the north end of the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is the fourth-most populous city in California, and the 13th-most populous in the United States, with a 2016 census-estimated population of 870,887. The population is projected to reach 1 million by 2033. 

San Francisco was founded on June 29, 1776, when colonists from Spain established Presidio of San Francisco at the Golden Gate and Mission San Francisco de Asís a few miles away, all named for St. Francis of Assisi. The California Gold Rush of 1849 brought rapid growth, making it the largest city on the West Coast at the time. San Francisco became a consolidated city-county in 1856. After three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. In World War II, San Francisco was a major port of embarkation for service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater. It then became the birthplace of the United Nations in 1945. After the war, the confluence of returning servicemen, massive immigration, liberalizing attitudes, along with the rise of the "hippie" counterculture, the Sexual Revolution, the Peace Movement growing from opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War, and other factors led to the Summer of Love and the gay rights movement, cementing San Francisco as a center of liberal activism in the United States. Politically, the city votes strongly along liberal Democratic Party lines. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. What is the fourth most populous city in California?
2. What does it rank in the US?
3. When was it founded?
4. What was it named for?
5. How many people live there?
6. During the gold rush was it a small city?
7. How big was it?
8. Is it part of Southern California?
9. Is it a conservative city?
10. What happened to the city in 1906?
11. by what?
12. What happened in 1945
Answer: 1. San Francisco
2. 13th
3. June 29, 1776
4. St. Francis of Assisi.
5. 870,887
6. No
7. largest city on the West Coast
8. No
9. No
10. destroyed
11. earthquake and fire
12. birthplace of the United Nations in 1945

The Times is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register and became The Times on 1 January 1788. The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times (founded in 1821) are published by Times Newspapers, since 1981 a subsidiary of News UK, itself wholly owned by the News Corp group headed by Rupert Murdoch. The Times and The Sunday Times do not share editorial staff, were founded independently and have only had common ownership since 1967. 

The Times is the first newspaper to have borne that name, lending it to numerous other papers around the world, including The Times of India (founded in 1838), The Straits Times (Singapore) (1845), The New York Times (1851), The Irish Times (1859), Le Temps (France) (1861-1942), the Cape Times (South Africa) (1872), the Los Angeles Times (1881), The Seattle Times (1891), The Manila Times (1898), The Daily Times (Malawi) (1900), El Tiempo (Colombia) (1911), The Canberra Times (1926), and The Times (Malta) (1935). In these countries, the newspaper is often referred to as The London Times or The Times of London. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. What was The Times' original title?
2. What year was that?
3. What name did it adopt on January 1, 1788?
4. Was it the first to use that name?
5. Since then, how many others have used it?
6. Where is the original Times based?
7. How often is it published?
8. Does it have a sister paper?
9. Named?
10. Was it founded before or after The Times?
11. In what year?
12. Do they share staff?
13. What do they share?
14. How long have they had the same owner?
15. Who is their publisher?
16. and the owner's name?
17. Who is the overall head of the parent company?
18. What is the Times equivalent in France?
19. What about Columbia?
20. Which is the most recent country to adopt usage of "The Times"?
21. in what year?
Answer:
1. The Daily Universal Register
2. 1785
3. The Times
4. yes
5. at least 14
6. London
7. daily
8. yes
9. The Sunday Times
10. after
11. 1821
12. no
13. publisher and owner
14. since 1967
15. Times Newspapers
16. News UK
17. Rupert Murdoch
18. Le Temps
19. El Tiempo
20. Malta
21. 1935